PA Ballet Brightens Day For Children With Special Needs

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Children of all ages from St. Christopher’s Hospital were given an unforgettable experience Saturday thanks to the Pennsylvania Ballet.

Kids with special needs got a taste of what it’s like to be a dancer during a class taught at the Pennsylvania Ballet Studio in Center City.

“We did some warmup exercises, we got to point our toes, and do just a few little basic ballet moves and they got to put on some tutus and tiaras and dance around and do some twirling in front of the mirrors,” explains Brooke Moore, a dancer with the ballet (gray shirt in above photo).

(Photo by Alexander Iziliaev)

She also served as an instructor at the event and was paired with a little girl who has a social anxiety disorder.

Charlie Miller, Director of Programming for Art-Reach — the nonprofit that helped organize the event — says like some of the children, that girl initially didn’t seem too excited, but as the event moved forward…

“You started to see her feet move, Ok I’m going to jump, OK I’ll do a little bow now. Now I’m going to engage a little bit more.”

He says watching their progression was one of the most rewarding parts of the experience:

“It’s inviting them into PA Ballets home and exposing them to something they would never get just by going to the theater and watching one of the ballets.”

After trying some ballet moves themselves, the children got to watch the dancers demonstrate exerts from upcoming performances.